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View GarageThanks Mike! I've been walking on air since CF5. It's not just that I've hit my goal, it's also that the car drives like it never has before, and I'm enjoying every minute of it.
Here’s the story for those who might be interested.
A few weeks before CF5 we started email tuning. We kept going lean. It was hard to figure out where the fuel issue was coming from, since my car had the Procharger boost-a-pump, but also the Arrington Competition fuel pump upgrade. After a lot of troubleshooting we decided to axe the boost-a-pump and run the Arrington pump only, but increase the size of the fuel supply line to -6 AN. Not willing to ignore advice from both Speedy and Sam, I pulled the injectors to evaluate them. That’s when I realized that they were only 52# injectors (which normally ships with the Procharger kit), as opposed to 63# injectors, which is what I had on my invoice. After replacing them with a set of 80# ones, we were good to go. Oh, except for the fact that I fired up the car and drove it to lunch with the new injectors and the old tune. It was running WAY rich as you’d expect. I had missed the email from Mike that said not to drive it until I got a new tune for the injectors. Doh! I felt like a total idiot, and had to fess up to him that I’d already driven it, and can I please have a new tune ASAP so I can get home from lunch? He was real busy that day with other stuff going on, but still got me a tune by the time lunch was done. Kudos for the customer service and understanding when working with an idiot like me. Mike’s turnaround time from datalog to tune revision is usally less than a day, and at some points we’d go through multiple revisions in a day.
After driving it too rich, my spark plugs were fouled, but not misfiring. After a few test runs with the new tune, they seemed to clean up just fine. I had sent Mike pictures of the plugs because he knows how to read them. He okayed them for now, with a plan to replace them with one step colder when I add the NOS.
So after countless revisions, the car was finally ready for track testing, which we did at CF5. I can’t say enough how awesome it is to have your tuner at the track with you, analyzing the logs and making revisions after every pass. We went through several more revisions at the track, including a pulley one size smaller to up the boost a little. I would never have attempted anything like that if Mike hadn’t been right there watching and adjusting.
Even though Mike was working on setting a record with his own car, he always had enough time to help me out. When he busted the Jeep’s engine (after setting the new record, thankfully), he was more upset that he had oiled the track than he was about windowing his engine. He ran all over the place apologizing to everybody. After that, he put his car on the trailer and then dove right in helping other people with their tunes. Micah, Mike’s son also helped me out immensely by loaning me tools and also showing me how to heat a stuck pulley to remove it. Micah also gave me all sorts of pointers about shifting that definitely made a difference. Between Mike’s tune and Micah’s help and pointers, I got there!
I have a buddy who races imports and knows nothing about the hemi world. When I told him about Mike, and how he read Speedy’s plugs to help dial in the tune, my friend said, “Wow, that’s old school.” And I told my friend that’s exactly who I want tuning my car. A guy with engine knowledge born of experience, combined with modern tools and the ability to use them. When Mike sent me the first base tune, the car drove so amazingly different, I could have stopped right there and been happy! But Mike had lots more tricks up his sleeve. In addition to the fuel and timing for the track, we were also adjusting how the car behaves on start, the throttle response, and even how it just cruises. One thing that I had lost in the Procharger tune was the exhaust burbles and pops on deceleration. I loved that sound. I couldn’t believe Mike brought it back.
I’ve always wanted to have a street car that I can race. My car’s now respectable at the track, and drives even better than stock on the street. We left some power on the table in this tune, considering it’s a stock engine and I still need to learn to shift faster. We might adjust it some more after I’ve had a chance to play with this one a bit. I like having that kind of flexibility.
My main goal has been achieved, so now I can relax and tinker with small things on the car that I’ve been putting off. Maybe install that NOS kit that I got from Bobbi, but that’s a whole different story.
Mike's a great tuner and an awesome dude. Sit down and talk to him about his old street racing days, you'll find out he's the real deal. Fast and furious, 30 years before it was a movie. The OST logo with the spark plug in the O that looks like an electronic "on" switch fits perfectly.
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